Mushroom Risotto

Ian's running a marathon on Sunday. 42.2km (somewhere around 4hrs) of continuous activity takes a lot of energy, so according to some website thing he found, he has to eat 20 cups of rice or pasta. That seems excessive, but whatever, I'm willing to help if it means making delicious risotto.

And none of this trendy none-rice risotto, either. Barley risotto? What the fuck is that? The Italians would have none of that, I'll tell you what.

 No, it's not pretty. I didn't have daylight. Sorry!

1 pkg dried mixed mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
1 very small onion, finely chopped
3 shallots, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
8oz sliced mushrooms (I had button on hand; this is very delicious with cremini or mixed wild mushrooms too though)
1 1/2 c arborio or carnaroli rice
1/4 - 1/2 c white wine
5 c veg stock
salt and pepper
1 - 2 tbsp Earth Balance

Place the dried mushrooms in a measuring cup; cover with boiling water (about a cup) and let steep for 20 minutes.

Put the stock in a small pan and heat over low heat; keep heated throughout the process.

Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Toss in the onions and shallots and cook until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more, then add the mushrooms. I like the mushrooms to retain their texture so at this point I only cook them for a couple of minutes; if you like super mushy mushrooms you may have wanted to add them when you started with the onions.

Add the rice and cook, stirring, until it's all coated in oil and cooked a little bit, about 5 minutes. Add the wine; I free poured cause that's how I roll but I estimate it was about 1/2 c or less. Stir until it's absorbed. At this point pull the rehydrated mushrooms out of their liquid and give'em a little squeeze. Chop them up and toss them into the pan. Add about half of the liquid and stir continuously until it's absorbed. Add the other half and repeat. Then start ladling in the broth in about half cup increments. At this point, I add broth, give it a good stir, and then leave the room and do something else for a couple of minutes. If you're a mother hen you can just stand and keep stirring, but I find it pretty unnecessary unless your pan is too hot.

When you've used up all the broth, turn off the heat and add the Earth Balance and salt and pepper to taste. Done!

ps Ian ran the marathon in 4:02. That's his new PB (personal best, duh) by 8 whole minutes!